Finalist - Travel Photographer of the Year. December 2019.

Endangered Planet Portfolio Category

Freshwater Habitats

Caught up in the tangle of Spirogyra, are some leaves dotted with insect eggs. The leaves belong to one of our planet’s smallest flowering plants, Duckweed. This species is Lemna minor, and each plant measures less than 5mm. Typically duckweed floats, forming vast rafts that stick together. Here, these plants have been pulled underwater where tadpoles and aquatic invertebrates pick off the eggs.

Duckweed is so nutritious it is now being used in farming as a sustainable source of cattle feed. It is an emerging star, an unassuming champion in the fight for a greener future.

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Highly Commended, BSoUP / DIVER Annual Print Awards, November 2019
Advanced British & Irish Category (Judges Vote)

"This image is about colour and detail. It has transformed a simple and potentially boring subject into a striking artistic presentation. We loved the colours and shapes."

Exhibited at the Dive show (Birmingham NEC), Oct 2019

Duckweed tangled up in algae strands with microscopic bubbles created from photosynthesis. Natural aeration for freshwater habitats. If you look closely at the leaves you can see tiny black dots with pale smudges around them which are insect eggs.

Image shot with a Nauticam SMC, two off camera lights, twin INON s2000 strobes and a homemade creative slate backdrop.

Location: Urban wildlife pond, Surrey, England

Photographer: Laura Storm